The Beauty of Adulthood
by BlueSmurfette
Summary: Written for the 101 CHARACTERS COMPETITION. What James Potter is thinking/seeing as Lily goes into labour. ONE SHOT.


I hear her calling for me "James!" her voice sounds strained, as though she is in pain. I drop my wand and run up the stairs, two steps a time, crashing through the door to find her bent over her hands clenching her stomach. A large puddle surrounds her, seeping into the antique carpet. I take deep breath, she looks at me her wide eyes tainted with fear and I know it is time. "It'll be okay Lils, it'll all be okay." I say as I very slowly lead her down the rickety staircase to the fireplace in the lounge. I quickly grab my wand and a handful of floo powder, frantically chucking it in the fire before I step in, guiding Lily with me. "St. Mungos!" I say as clearly as I can. I am nervous. I close my eyes and count to ten before reopening them. We're there. The hospital is crowded, all around me I see wizards and witches with various impalements - wands stuck up the nose, mssing limbs, but for once I do not stop and stare, instead rushing my wife to the front desk. "Hi," I say to a short, stout woman with messy grey hair, who ignores me as she sits looking intensely at what I recognise as a muggle soda can (I've spent too much time with Arthur Weasley). Excuse me!" I say raising my voice this time - still I am ignored. I snatch the can away from away from the woman who looks up startled. I drop the soda can on the floor and stamp on it, the metallic crunching ringing through my ears. I now have the womans attention, "Hello, my wife is in labour, where can I take her?" The witch resentfully directs me to an elevator, and with Lily in tow I dash into it. Lily is starting to breath very heavily now and the grasp on her stomach has tightened.

PING and we're on the maternity ward, we exit the lift where we are greeted by two nurses in uniform. One bustles Lily into a wheelchair, gently coaxing her as she wheels her down a long corridor. The other nurse takes my hand, leading me to a waiting room. I hear words 'ward' and 'wait' but I am too enthralled in my own thoughts to hear what she is saying. She smiles at me gingerly before turning on her heels and walking away. There is a deathly silence surrounding me, though I am not alone. There are several other nervous fathers-to-be around me and i expect they hear silence too I am just focused, for I know that today, in just a few hours, I wlll be a father. In a few hours I will hold in my arms my own flesh and bones. My own blood. I am terrified. How have I gone from James the carefree rebel to James the husband and father? I imagine the future - the responsibilty, the long nights, the teenage angst and for a second - just a split second I consider running. Running far, far away and never stopping, never returning. Immediately I toss the thought aside, think instead of the love I will feel. Thinking about how soon there will be another human in this world that I care about as much as my wife. That I would die for.

I feel a hand on my shoulder and reality awakens, I look up to find Sirius grinning at me, his long dark hair greasy as though he has come straight from his bed. A theory that I realise is true when I notice he is in stripey blue and dirty white flannel pyjamas. I smile somewhat nervously back at him, standing up to embrace him. "Congratulation mate!" he says pulling away from me "So is it ginger like the Mrs or what?" he asks, a devilish smile on his lips. I laugh at his expression - he thinks he's hilarious. "I don't know. I don't know yet."

"Well, shouldn't be long, but in the mean time I think I'll make myself comfortable." Sirius says sitting down on one of the uncomfortable green chairs and stretching his legs out, alerting me to the fact he is wearing slippers with teddybears on them. "Nice slippers." I say, chuckling as he looks at his slippers himself, turning bright red before replying,

"They're not mine." Of course not Sirius.

"James Potter?" a female calls out. I stand up abruptly, fumbling with my hands as I walk quickly towards a smiling nurse who I have identified as the speaker. "Congratulations on your beautiful baby boy. Would you like to see him?" I nod, speechless and am lead down a corridor, barely hearing Sirius wooping from the waiting room. A boy. Wow. When me and Lily talked about the child I'd always said the sex didn't matter to me - and I'd meant it, though I knew secretly I wanted a boy just that little bit more. I could imagine it now - teaching him to fly his first broom, advising him on how to talk to girls, watching him grow up and marry, have his own children. I entered the small room to see Lily, lying on the hospital bed holding a bunch of blankets. She looks radiant as she looks down at the blankets. At our child. Our son. I walk over to her, resting a hand on her shoulder as she turns to me - her eyes sparkling and a giant smile on her face.

"Meet your son James." she says, carefully handing the blankets over to me. I gulp as I stare at the tiny person in my arms. "You can choose his name," she adds, watching me watch him "I'll name baby number two." she grins and wraps an arm round my waist. I stare at the boy. He has a good head o fmessy black hair on him already, much like mine (Sirius will be disappointed) and beautiful, beautiful bottle green eyes, just like his mother.

"Harry." I say simply, love flowing through me as I say the words, "We'll call him Harry."


End file.
